TEXT: Luke 20:9-19

SUBJECT: Luke #76: Wicked Vinedressers

Today, with God’s blessing, we’ll have a look at one of our Lord’s last parables. It was spoken in the Temple during the week of Passover. This means it was heard by many thousands of people—devout Jews—many of whom had traveled long distances to be in the city on this, the happiest and most sacred week of the year.

The parable is spoken to everyone, but it’s not about everyone. No, the Lord has one set of people in mind: they are the leaders of Israel, "the chief priests and scribes". The priests were in charge of public worship and the scribes did the teaching. The men received a sacred trust from God—to care for His people—but they did not live up to it. Instead of shepherding the flock of God, they fleeced and butchered it.

Voices were raised against them, of course, but they knew how to shut them up. And well they should: they had had plenty of practice! For centuries, God had called them to repentance and now He’s doing it one last time, with the vain hope that—this time—they’ll listen.

This is a story of judgment against the leaders of Israel, with a pinch of hope tossed in at the end. It does not make for pleasant reading--the people who first heard it cried out, "God forbid". But, enjoyable or not, it is the Word of Jesus Christ and good for those who believe it.

The parable begins with a farmer who plants a vineyard, leases it out to sharecroppers, and travels abroad for several years. The understanding, of course, is that the farm belongs to the man, the tenants are working it for him, and when he gets back, they’ll divvy up the profits.

The vineyard is a good one and the men working it are as happy as they can be.

Until the farmer’s servant shows up wanting the owner’s share of the wine. He is not given a warm welcome. In fact, the farm hands beat him up and send him away with nothing. He goes back and reports to the boss.

Other men would have called the cops in and had the wicked farm hands evicted and arrested and thrown in jail. But the farmer is a kind and patient man and isn’t eager to punish the tenants—even though they deserve it.

And so, he sends another servant—perhaps one who can explain his claim more clearly than the other man. But he too is rejected and mistreated. The first man they just beat up, but this man is also humiliated in some way. Maybe they tore his clothes off and ran him off the farm naked! That will show the boss they mean business!

The farmer is shocked by their bad behavior, but his kindness once again gets the best of him. A third servant is sent off with the hope of collect his due. This man they treat even worse than the first two: he is severely wounded and thrown out of the vineyard (maybe unconscious or left-for-dead). He gets to his feet and tells the boss what happened.

Now the farmer has every right to lower the boom on these wicked men. But he’s so sweet and sympathetic and longsuffering, that he’ll try once more to get what’s his.

This time he’ll send his son—his beloved son. Maybe, just maybe the farm hands didn’t recognize the authority of the servants who came to collect for him, but surely, they’ll understand that his favorite son is speaking for him. Perhaps he bears an uncanny resemblance to his father. In any event, they’ll respect him.

But the farmer is wrong. The farm hands are not good men who are mistaken; no, they’re thieves. From the bottom of their hearts, they hate the farmer and they want what belongs to him.

When the son shows up, they ask him in, pretending respect. But then they huddle up to make a plan. They decide the best way to keep the vineyard for themselves is to kill the man to whom it will belong some day. So they carry him outside the vineyard walls and murder him!

Now—they think—the vineyard is ours!

But they were mistaken. They have taken the farmer’s patience for weakness. But when he finds out what they did to his son, he sends in the Marines! They take back the vineyard and kill every man who worked it.

The farmer then leases it out to others—to workers who will work for him and not themselves; to honest men who will be thankful for the fine vineyard and give the owner his due.

That’s the parable.

But then, instead of leaving it there, the Lord adds a Scripture to it. It’s Psalm 118:22:

This confirms the story. The sharecroppers in the parable are the same as the builders in the Psalm. Both reject the prophets of God and even the Son of God.

The parable, therefore, is consistent with the teaching of the Bible. But that’s not all the citation does: it also adds to the story—just a bit, and it’s kind of sketchy. But notice: the stone that the builders reject is not thrown away! No, it becomes the most important stone in the building. What building? That doesn’t matter! What matters is that the verdict of Israel’s court is not final! The One they don’t want, Someone Else does want.

For those who don’t want that Stone (or don’t receive that Son), there is nothing but judgment—terrible and final judgment. The Stone, you see, isn’t a pebble, but a boulder, and will one day roll over the leaders of Israel and grind them to fine powder.

The reaction to the story is what you’d expect: the leaders of Israel are not humbled by it or brought to repentance. That very hour they start plotting the Lord’s death—how they can take Him without stirring up the people. How they can shut Him up once and for all without inciting a riot and losing their positions of authority and wealth.

There is no mystery in today’s parable. Although He uses figurative language, the Lord is speaking plainly: both His friends and His enemies knew what He was saying.

What does the parable mean? It means enough is enough! God had put up with the leaders of His people for a very long time—for centuries, He had tolerated their incompetence and abuse! From Korah who chided Moses to Manasseh who sawed the prophets in half, to Herod who cut off the head of John the Baptist. How kind the Lord was! How sweet and patient and sympathetic to the weaknesses of these men! No other Lord would put up with them. But God did, for long years, He sat back and did nothing but send them messengers of hope.

But now they’ve crossed the line. In the next few days, the leaders of Israel will crucify God’s Beloved Son. And with that, His patience will run out and an appalling judgment will fall upon them—and the ones who follow them.

The prophecy was not in vain; in 70 A.D. it came to pass with the Roman sack of Jerusalem and the bloodiest massacre in the history of the world.

Such was the penalty for rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ.

From this, we find the significance of the story—what it means to us. We are not the rulers of Israel in the First Century; we did not plot to crucify the Lord and we did not consent to His death. These foul deeds were done by others.

Would we have done them if we were there? Only God knows. But—make no mistake about it—we can reject Christ! Everyone here has done that—including me! And some of you still are doing it.

Not with the loud voice that they lent to His rejection—but loud or quiet—God hears every word, including the words spoken only in the heart.

What is the word we speak against Him? It is the little word, no. We say no His Gospel! We say no to His Law! We say no to His people! We say no to His fellowship; no to His priorities.

You don’t stamp your feet against Christ or shake your fist at Him—but who ever said that stubbornness is lodged in your feet or hands? No, it’s in the heart and is evident in everything you do, every choice you make: whom you marry, how you work, what you buy, what you spend your spare time doing.

Every choice is either for Him or against Him—it crowns the Lord or it crucifies Him.

Weak friends are still friends! But enemies are not friends! The leaders of Israel were—in many ways—better than the pagans all around them. They didn’t worship idols, they prayed to the Lord, fasted against sin, and gave alms to the poor. But they were still the enemies of Christ. And God put them to the sword for it.

Their time has passed: they made their choices—and died for them. Now it is your turn: Will you choose for Christ or against Him? Will you say no to yourself or no to Him?

That’s the choice you have: to not choose for Him is to choose against Him. The stream of human life is moving away from Christ and so, to not paddle toward Him is to drift away from Him. Every minute of unbelief, every second of stubbornness pushes you farther away from Mercy and closer to Judgment.

The leaders of Israel made the wrong choice. But their choice is not your destiny. You can choose against them and for Christ!

This is serious. God means business. He offers mercy to everyone who says yes to Christ and mercy to no one who says no.

Is this fair? Many say it isn’t. Why should a good person, without Christ fall under the judgment of God?

This is a trick question, of course, for the Bible says there is no good person without Christ. Read Romans, chapter 3.

But, if we accept the premise, we still have to say the ways of God are just and perfectly fair. For, go back and read the parable, and you’ll see what’s wrong with rejecting Christ and why is justifies a severe punishment.

We are in exactly the same situation they were: we are living on God’s property—"The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein". And though He is very generous and kind to us, He wants His due: He wants us to love Him, obey Him, trust Him, and respect His Son.

But we don’t. We love ourselves and obey the world and do not respect the Lord—not in a meaningful way, at least.

God sends us messengers: Christian friends, preachers, good books, the Bible, radio programs, and the voice of conscience. They all tell us to give the Lord His due. But we won’t listen to them!

Finally, God shows us His Son, crucified for our sins and raised for our salvation. But we meet Him with a yawn or maybe worse.

So, if you were God, what would you do? No one here would put up with that! But God does. But not forever. There is a long day of grace, but it is followed by a day of judgment. No one can escape that one.

No one but he who respects God’s Son, puts His faith in Him and lives for Him. God is just and the justifier of him who believes in Christ.

For the leaders of Israel, this was a real downer of a parable. But it can be a happy one for you and me. If we act on it in faith. God give us the grace, for Christ’s sake. Amen.